ALESSANDRO FRANCATELLI.
In order that the reader should fully understand the stirring incidents
which yet remain to be told, it is necessary for us to explain certain
particulars connected with Alessandro Francatelli, the brother of the
beautiful Flora. It will be recollected that this young man accompanied
the Florentine envoy to Constantinople, in the honorable capacity of
secretary, some few years previous to the commencement of our tale.
Alessandro was strikingly handsome, tall, well-formed, and of great
physical strength. His manners were pleasing, his conversation agreeable
to a degree. Indeed, he had profited so well by the lessons of the
excellent-hearted Father Marco, that his mind was well stored with
intellectual wealth. He was, moreover, a finished musician, and played
the violin, at that period a rare accomplishment, to perfection. In
addition to all these qualifications, he was a skillful versifier, and
composed the most beautiful extemporaneous poetry, apparently without an
effort. But his disposition was by no means light or devoted to pursuits
which worldly-minded persons would consider frivolous. For he himself
was worldly-minded, keen, shrewd, far-seeing, and ambitious. He deplored
the ruin which had overtaken his family, and longed ardently to rebuild
its fortunes, adding thereto the laurels of glory and the honors of
rank.
The situation which he enjoyed in the establishment of the Florentine
envoy appeared to him the stepping-stone to the attainment of these
objects, but the embassy had not been long settled at Constantinople,
when Alessandro found that his master was one who, being ignorant
himself, was jealous of the talents displayed by others. Great interest
had alone procured the envoy the post which he held as negotiator
plenipotentiary with the Ottoman Porte, on behalf of the Republic of
Florence; and the Turkish reis-effendi, or minister of foreign affairs,
soon perceived that the Christian embassador was quite incompetent to
enter into the intricacies of treaties and the complex machinery of
diplomacy. But suddenly the official notes which the envoy addressed to
the reis-effendi began to exhibit a sagacity and an evidence of
far-sighted policy which contrasted strongly with the imbecility which
had previously characterized those communications. It was at that period
a part of the policy of the Ottoman Port to maintain spies in the
household of all the foreign embassadors residing in Constantinople; and
through this agency the reis-effendi discovered that the Florentine
envoy had condescended to avail himself of the brilliant talents of his
secretary, Alessandro Francatelli, to infuse spirit into his official
notes.
The reis-effendi was himself a shrewd and sagacious man; and he
recognized in the abilities evinced by the youthful secretary, those
elements which, if properly developed, would form a great politician.
The Turkish Minister accordingly resolved to leave no stone unturned, in
order to entice so promising an individual into the service of the
sultan. To accomplish this object indirect means were at first
attempted; and the secret agents of the minister sounded Alessandro upon
the subject. He listened to them at first in silence, but not
unwillingly. They grew bolder, and their speech became more open. He
encouraged them to lay bare their aims; and they hinted to him how
glorious a career might be opened to him were he to enter the service of
the high and mighty sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, who then sat upon
the proud throne of the Ottoman Empire.
The more attentively Alessandro listened, the less reserved became those
who were instructed to undermine his fidelity toward his master, the
Florentine Envoy. They represented to him how Christians, who had
abjured their creed and embraced the Moslem faith, had risen to the
highest offices, even to the post of grand vizier, or prime minister of
the empire. Alessandro was completely master of his emotions; he had not
studied for some years in the school of diplomacy without learning how
to render the expression of his countenance such as at any moment to
belie the real state of his feelings. He did not, therefore, suffer the
spies and agents of the reis-effendi to perceive how deep an impression
their words had made upon him; but he said and looked enough to convince
them that the topics of their discourse would receive the most serious
consideration at his hands. His mind was already made up to accept the
overtures thus made to him; but he affected to hesitate, for he saw that
his services were ardently longed for, and he resolved to drive as
advantageous a bargain as possible.
He was one afternoon lounging through the principal bezestein or bazaar,
when he was struck by the elegant form, imposing air, and rich apparel
of a lady who rode slowly along upon a mule, attended by four female
slaves on foot. The outlines of her figure shaped the most admirable
symmetry he had ever beheld; and though her countenance was concealed by
a thick veil, in accordance with the custom of the East, yet he seemed
to have been impressed with an instinctive conviction that the face
beneath that invidious covering was eminently beautiful. Moreover, the
eyes whose glances flashed through the two holes which were formed in
the veil so as to permit the enjoyment of the faculty of sight, were
gloriously brilliant, yet black as jet. Once, too, when the lady raised
her delicate white hand, sparkling with jewels, to arrange the folds of
that hated veil, Alessandro caught a rapid, evanescent glimpse of a neck
as white as snow.
The little procession stopped at the door of a merchant's shop in the
bazaar; the slaves assisted the lady to dismount, and she entered the
warehouse, followed by her dependents, the mule being left in charge of
one of the numerous porters who thronged in the bezestein.
Alessandro lingered near the door, and he beheld the merchant displaying
various pieces of rich brocade before the eyes of the lady, who,
however, scrupulously retained the dense veil over her countenance.
Having made her purchases, which were taken charge of by one of the
slaves, the lady came forth again; and Alessandro, forgetting that his
lingering near now amounted to almost an act of rudeness, was chained to
the spot, lost in admiration of her elegant gesture, her graceful yet
dignified carriage, and the exquisite contour of her perfect shape. Her
feet and ankles, appearing beneath the full trousers, that were gathered
in just at the commencement of the swell of the leg, were small and
beautifully shaped; and so light was her tread, that she scarcely seemed
to touch the ground on which she walked.
As the lady issued from the door of the merchant's shop, she cast a
rapid but inquiring look toward Alessandro, though whether in anger or
curiosity he was unable to determine, for the eyes only could he see,
and it was impossible for him to read the meaning of the glances they
sent forth, when unassisted by a view of the general expression worn by
her countenance at the same time.
Accident, however, favored him far more than he could have possibly
anticipated. At the very moment when the lady's head was turned toward
him, she tripped over the cordage of a bale of goods that had shortly
before been opened beneath the painted awning over the front of the
shop, and she would have fallen had not Alessandro sprung forward and
caught her in his arms.
She uttered a faint scream, for her veil had shifted aside from its
proper position; and her countenance was thus revealed to a man, and
that man evidently by his dress a Christian!
Instantly recovering her self-possession, she readjusted her veil, gave
a gentle but graceful inclination of the head toward Alessandro, mounted
her mule by the assistance of the slaves, and rode away at a somewhat
hasty pace. Alessandro stood gazing after her until she turned the angle
of the nearest street, and it struck him that her glance was for an
instant cast rapidly back toward him, ere she disappeared from his view.
And no wonder that he stood thus rooted to the spot, following her with
his eyes; for the countenance which accident had revealed to him was
already impressed upon his heart. It was one of those lovely Georgian
faces, oval in shape, and with a complexion formed of milk and roses,
which have at all times been prized in the East, as the very perfection
of female beauty; a face which, without intellectual expression,
possesses an ineffable witchery, and all the charms calculated to
fascinate the beholder. The eyes were black as jet, the hair of a dark
auburn, and luxuriantly rich in its massive beauty; the lips were of
bright vermilion, and between them were two rows of pearl, small and
even. The forehead was high and broad, and white as marble, with the
delicate blue veins visible through the transparent complexion.
Alessandro was ravished as he reflected on the wondrous beauty thus for
a moment revealed to him, but his raptures speedily changed to positive
grief when he thought how improbable it was that this fair creature
would ever cross his path again. He entered the warehouse, made a small
purchase, and inquired casually of the Turkish merchant if he knew who
the lady was. The reply was in the negative, but the merchant informed
Alessandro that he had no doubt the lady was of some rank, from the
profound respect with which her slaves treated her, and from the
readiness with which she paid the prices demanded of her for the goods
she had purchased, Turkish ladies generally being notorious for their
disposition to drive a hard bargain with traders.
Alessandro returned to the suburb of Pera, in which the mansion of the
Florentine Embassy was situated--his mind full of the beautiful creature
whose countenance he had seen for a moment, and whose soft form he had
also for a moment--a single moment--held in his arms. He could not apply
himself to the duties of his office, but feigned indisposition and
retired to the privacy of his own apartment. And never did that chamber
seem so lonely, so cold, so cheerless. His entire disposition appeared
to have become suddenly changed; he felt that the world now contained
something the possession of which was positively necessary to his
happiness. One sole idea absorbed all his thoughts: the most lovely
countenance which, in his estimation, he had ever seen was so indelibly
reflected in the mirror of his mind, that his imagination could
contemplate naught besides. He knew not that whenever he went abroad, he
was watched by one of the spies of the reis-effendi; and he was
therefore surprised when, on the following day, that secret agent of the
minister whispered in his ear, "Christian, thou lovest--and it depends
on thyself whether thou wilt be loved in return!"
Alessandro was stupefied at these words. His secret was known, or at
least suspected. He questioned the individual who had thus addressed
him, and he found that the incident of the preceding day was indeed more
than suspected--it _was_ known. He besought to know who the lady was;
but the spy would not, or could not satisfy him. He, however, promised
that he would endeavor to ascertain a point in which Alessandro appeared
to be so deeply interested. The intriguing spirit of Turkish dependents
is notorious: the reader will not therefore be surprised when we state
that in a few days the spy made his appearance in Alessandro's presence
with a countenance denoting joyous tidings. The young Italian was
impatient to learn the results of the agent's inquiries.
"I know not who the lady is," was the reply; "but this much I have to
impart to you, signor--that she did not behold you the other day with
indifference; that she is grateful for the attention you paid in
offering your aid to save her from perhaps a serious accident--and that
she will grant you a few moments' interview this evening, provided you
assent to certain conditions to be imposed upon you, respecting the
preliminary arrangements for your meeting."
"Name them! name them!" exclaimed Alessandro, wild with joy, and almost
doubting whether he were not in the midst of a delicious dream.
"That you consent to be blindfolded while being conducted into her
presence--that you maintain the most profound silence while with those
who will guide you to her abode--and that you return from the interview
under the same circumstances."
"I should be unworthy the interest which she deigns to manifest in my
behalf, were I to refuse compliance with those terms," answered
Alessandro.
"An hour after sunset," said the spy, "you will meet me at the gate of
the Mosque of Selimya;" and with those words he hurried away, leaving
the young Florentine in a state of excited hope, amounting to a delirium
of joy.
Alessandro was well aware that adventures, such as the one in which he
found himself suddenly involved, were by no means uncommon in the East;
and that ladies of the most unimpeachable virtue, as well as of the
highest rank, frequently accorded interviews of this private nature to
those men who were fortunate enough to merit their attention--such
visits being the first step toward matrimonial connections. But then he
remembered that he was a Christian, and the fair object of his devotion
was probably of the Moslem faith. What, then, would be the result? Was
some wealthy lady of high rank about to abandon her creed for his sake?
or would the sacrifice of his faith be required as the only condition on
which his complete happiness might be achieved? He knew not--cared but
little; it was sufficient for him that he was to meet the charming being
whose image had never once quitted his mind, from the first moment he
had seen her in the bezestein!
Even before the appointed hour was Alessandro pacing the square in front
of the splendid temple which the Sultan Selim--the conqueror of
Egypt--had erected, and which bore his imperial name. At length the
agent, for whom he waited, made his appearance. This man, though
actually a Turkish dependent in the service of the Florentine Envoy,
was, as before stated, neither more nor less than one of the numerous
spies placed by the reis-effendi round the person of that embassador.
Alessandro was aware of this, in consequence of the offers and
representations that had been made to him through the means of this
agent, and though the youth suspected that the man knew more concerning
the beauteous idol of his heart than he had chosen to admit, yet he had
seen enough to convince him of the inutility of questioning him on that
head.
It was, therefore, in silence that Alessandro followed his guide through
several by-streets down to the margin of the waters of the Golden Horn.
There a boat, in which two rowers and a female slave were seated, was
waiting.
"Here, must you be blindfolded," said the spy.
For a few moments Alessandro hesitated, in regret that he had gone so
far with this adventure. He had heard fearful tales of dark deeds
committed on the waters of the Bosporus and the Golden Horn; and he
himself, when roving during his leisure hours along the verdant banks of
those waters, had seen the livid corpse float with the tale-telling
bow-string fastened round the neck.
The spy seemed to divine his thoughts.
"You hesitate, signor," he said; "then let us retrace our way. But
remember," he added in a low tone, "that were treachery intended, it
would be as easy to perform the deed where you now stand, as on the
bosom of that star-lit gulf."
Alessandro hesitated no longer, but suffered himself to be completely
hooded in a cap which the spy drew over his countenance. He was then
conducted into the boat and guided to a seat next to the female slave.
The spy leapt upon the strand, the boatmen plied their oars, and the
skiff shot away from the bank, no one uttering a word.
[END OF PART I.]
_PART II._